


It might take an army, it might just be me

by Anonymous



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accidental Coming Out, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Dark Magic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, H/D Cluefest 2021, Happy Ending, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:42:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Five years after the war, Auror Potter goes out on a seemingly routine mission to check up on some pardoned criminals. He doesn’t come back. Immediate suspicions are cast on Draco Malfoy, one of the charges he was to be visiting. But unbeknownst to everyone, the two of them have been in a secret relationship for over six months, and Draco is beside himself with worry and so is Hermione and Ron. Together they try to get their best friend back. But there are surprises on their ways which none of them even expects of.Can they get their best friend back or is he gone forever?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46
Collections: H/D Cluefest 2021





	It might take an army, it might just be me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swisstae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swisstae/gifts).



> A million thanks to K and S for your alpha and beta. I don't know what I would have done without both of you!!! To S who worked tirelessly and K who helped me when I was stuck around plot holes, thank you so much!!
> 
> To my readers, I hope you enjoy reading :))

“Aren’t you supposed to be on duty?” he asks as he presses yet another kiss to Harry’s lips. They are lying tangled up on the couch after Harry’s surprise visit.

“I am on duty!” Harry says with indignation. 

“Oh really?” 

“Yeah, of course. Who do you think I am? I take my job  _ very _ seriously!” he says sarcastically before flashing Draco a smile.

“Yes, I can  _ clearly  _ see that. But really, how can you even be here?” Draco asks, his curiosity eating away at his patience.

“I had to do a routine parole check on all the pardoned civilians from the war and you’re the last one I need to visit ....so here we are,” he finishes awkwardly, no doubt feeling guilty or overthinking again as usual.

“So, Auror, what do you want to know?” Draco asks, keeping his tone light so Harry knows that he hasn’t been upset by his words at all.

“I know enough to last centuries, I think. I can even include in my reports how good our favourite ex-Death Eater is in bed, especially when--” Draco cuts him off with a snog so heated it makes him want to fuck Harry all over again.

“What if I’m in on this potion thing you’re investigating or the new Death Eater rumors? I mean, I’m a potioneer plus a Death Eater. You’re not worried at all?” Draco asks after a few more kisses.

“ _ Ex _ Death Eater. And both of those cases are highly confidential, I’ll have you know. Plus, if you were involved, wouldn’t it be dangerous to be spending so much time with me?”

“Oh, Potter, did you not learn anything in the Auror Academy? Dating you is a part of the plan. Obviously, I’m just trying to win your trust so I wont be suspected! Haha,” he laughs in a mocking tone.

“Some Auror I am, then! Fooled this easily by an ordinary civilian. Such a shame!” He shakes his head and, not being able to keep it together any longer, bursts out laughing, and Draco can’t help but join in. 

They spend some more time together like that, just sitting there tangled up until Harry has to leave. 

“Can’t you just stay?” Draco asks, reluctant to let him go.

“You know I can’t, love. And I'm coming over for dinner in, like, three hours so I think you can live with missing me while I’m gone, alright?” Harry says with a smile that lights Draco up from within. 

Under normal circumstances, he would have replied with snark, but today something stops him from doing that, so instead he replies, “Okay, but only if you miss me just as much.”

Harry starts, no doubt expecting the usual sass, but after a moment he says, “I will, more than you know. Bye, love.” He kisses him one last time before leaving, and then starts towards the end of Draco’s wards and to disapparate away. Feeling content and excited after his heavenly afternoon surprise, Draco looks up a recipe for the fanciest dish he can think of and prepares to cook dinner.

*

It has been almost eight hours since Harry first left Draco’s flat with the promise to be back in three. Draco is about to go looking for him when he hears a knock on the door. 

_ ‘It must be him,’ _ he thinks as he prepares himself for an argument. Harry knocks again, making Draco even more pissed. ‘ _ He’s late  _ and _ on the top of that he has the audacity to knock twice. Some guts he’s got,’  _ he whispers haughtily as he swings open the door.

“What do you even call this hour, Pott--Oh it’s you Weasley! What do you want?” Draco is surprised to see it is Weasley, and not Harry, who has knocked, but, being the good host he is, he invites Weasley in.

“So, what do you want, Weasley?”

“It’s Auror Weasley for you,  _ Malfoy. _ ”

“Yeah, whatever, Weasley. What is it that you want?” he repeats, irritated with Weasley already. He wants to see Harry, but definitely not his ginger buffoon of a best mate.

“It’s about Harry. He’s missing.”

Draco feels his heart skip a beat as his worst fear becomes reality. Giving his best nonchalant frown, he asks, “So what? What do I have to do with it?”

_ ‘Could Harry have told Weasley about their relationship? Was Weasley just testing him?’ _ He shakes his head at that thought; Harry might be an idiot, but he wouldn’t have done that without informing Draco first. Thus, he has absolutely no idea in seven hells why Weasley is here.

Weasley makes a frustrated sound, as if to say that he doesn’t have time for Draco’s shit, but Draco decides to give him shit anyway.

“ _ So  _ he was here last on routine parole. He was supposed to visit ten pardoned criminals today and I’ve talked to the other nine and from there I got the idea that he visited you last, which would mean he should have been at the Ministry at 2:30 pm at the latest. It's 10:15 now, Malfoy, so you must know what I mean when I say that my best mate is missing!” He practically yells the last words, hoping to get a reaction, but Draco refuses to rise to the bait. He sits there with his neutral expression, one eyebrow arched, looking every bit of the pureblood he was raised to be.

“Okay Weasley, do you want to know when he was here? I can tell you that, but the question is, why should I? No gain for me, is there?” He uses his best pretentious drawl, hoping his refusal to answer will get him more information about Harry from Weasley.

“So this is the game we are playing then, Malfoy? I’m here on investigation and if you don’t tell me right away everything you know about Harry, I’ll force Veritaserum down your throat with my bare hands, paperwork and laws be damned. Trust me, I fucking will.”

“Language, Weasley. What would people think if they heard you talking like that to a respectful civilian? Not proper protocol, is it?” He taps his finger gently on his lip and smirks at Weasley’s even more frustrated expression.

“You know what, Malfoy? That’s it, I’m taking you in for interrogation, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.” 

“ _ Ah, Weasley but that is exactly what I want _ ,” he thinks but dares not to say out loud.

“You can’t do that. You need to wait at least 12 hours before deeming a person missing and you just said it’s been what, eight hours since Harry was last seen, so you got to wait at least four more. I could even lie about when he left and you’d have to take my word for it,” he pouts mockingly.

“Oh Malfoy,” Weasley says, low and dangerous, “did you not learn at school that I don’t care much for rules? If you don’t come with me now, I’ve means to make you a prime suspect in the case.” It’s Weasley’s turn to smile sweetly and Draco wonders when he became so tactful. It must be Harry’s influence.

Thinking it wouldn’t be prudent to provoke Weasley more, he agrees to go, looking less than pleased at being dragged away from his home at this hour.

Weasley more-or-less just dumps him in an interrogation room and asks him to wait. Well,  _ ask _ would be an overstatement, but it works.

*

It has been almost an hour since then and Draco is growing impatient. He hates waiting. He has no idea why he has been made to wait, but he does so anyway, knowing it might provide him more information regarding Harry.

Just then, he hears a commotion outside and the Ministress of Magic, Hermione Granger, and her husband and Senior Auror, Ronald Weasley, enter the room .

Granger takes the lead as both of them sit down.

“So Malfoy, tell me-”

“Tell you what, Granger?” he counters brusquely, but Granger is unruffled by his aggressiveness. 

“Tell me, when was the last time you saw Senior Auror Potter?” Her voice is low and firm, making it clear that sass will get him nowhere with her.

“I saw him last at around 2:05 pm when he left my house after his routine parole check,” he replies in a calm and sincere voice and Weasley gapes at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Draco is enjoying the theatrics way too much for his own good, but he keeps the polite facade up. Plus, it keeps him distracted from his own worries, if only momentarily.

“Oh, that’s good to know,” she replies, glancing disapprovingly at Weasley. Clearly she is not pleased at having to do his job for him. Weasley will be shouted upon for not even getting this minor detail out of him, that was for sure.

“Anything else, Ministress? I have work to do after all.”

“Well, sorry to say Mr. Malfoy but you’ll have to stay here until I give you express permission to leave. Even then you will need to make yourself available for any kind of questioning that I require. I’m willing to do anything in order to find my best friend!” This is the first time since Draco arrived that she has shown even an ounce of unprofessionalism, and Draco is quite impressed. 

“Did Auror Potter by any chance tell you where he would be heading before he left?”

“Really, Granger? Ha- Potter and I aren’t even friends, why would he tell me?” he asks, but continues speaking before Granger can respond. “But fortunately, he did. He told me that he would be returning straight to the Ministry.” He tries to keep his voice nonchalant, he isn’t sure that he succeeds.

“We assumed as much. Nevertheless, thank you Mr. Malfoy for your cooperation. He didn’t tell you which apparition point he’d be coming in from, did he?”

“Mione, how is the git supposed to know that?” Weasley whines.

“But I do, of course,” he says, and Granger shrugs at Weasley. “He said he would be taking the back entrance at the end of Knockturn because he doesn’t like the crowds at this hour.”

“And how do you know that, ferret?” Weasley snaps, blood boiling

Draco smirks. “I just do, Weasley. I’m not obliged to tell you how.”

Weasley crosses his arms across his chest and sighs loudly, but doesn’t say anything else.

“Well, Mr. Malfoy, thank you for the information. We might call you or visit you if needed.”

“Am I allowed to leave then? ”

“Yes you can. And for further occasions, it’s Granger-Weasley or Ministress, please.”

  
  


“We’ll see about that, won’t we Granger?” Draco says just as he shuts the door behind him.

*

It has been almost 48 hours since Draco last saw Harry and he is panicking, to say the least. The Aurors are not even useful at this point; he has gone into the ministry no less than five times, but to no avail. The Aurors just brush him off, saying that it’s confidential information and that he can’t be told anything unless he has explicit permission from either the Ministress or the Head Auror. 

He comes across Weasley, who, just like the rest of Auror force, repeats the same thing. 

“Why do you care so much, Malfoy? It’s not like you are even friends with him to begin with,” he says with scorn when Draco insists on being told.

“I--”  _ am his fucking boyfriend! _ he starts, but instead he says, “was the last one who saw him and I don’t want the Saviour’s disappearance to be blamed on me.”

“Ha. As if that’s true. Why don’t you run along and ask the new Death Eaters, they must be your friends. Ask them where they took Harry. I’m sure they will be glad to tell you since you’re all buddy-buddy with them, isn't it?” Weasley says mockingly, leaving Draco standing in the middle of the Ministry corridor. 

He does the next thing that comes to his mind which is having a  _ talk _ with the Ministress herself. He starts towards her chamber while a plan starts to formulate in his mind. He just hopes Ministress Granger is wiser than her husband and not full of the same Gryffindor stubbornness.

“Is the Ministress in?” he asks as soon as he reaches her chamber. Granger’s assistant looks up at him, startled at his sudden appearance. He flashes her his most charming smile and prays that it works in winning her favour.

“She is, do you’ve an appointment? The Ministress is quite a busy person,” she asks with a look of disdain.

“Oh, she is in, you say? Thank you!” he says, and strides past the desk without even giving the assistant a second to reply.

He opens the door to find Granger shouting at someone named Pratik on a cell phone. She looks up at him when he opens the door and motions for him to seat himself. She shouts some more through the line while the assistant stands at the door, looking terrified. 

When she hangs up her call, she says, “It’s fine, Maya. I know how Mr. Malfoy can get. You may leave.” The assistant looks relieved immediately and leaves quickly, still muttering an apology under her breath.

She turns towards Draco and fixes him with a long stare before speaking.

“So, Malfoy, what the fuck do you want?”

“Language, Granger. What would the people say?”

“I don’t care, Malfoy. Not when you just barged in here without an appointment like you own the fucking place. Are you aware I can have you sent to Azkaban just for that?” she asks, and Draco hasn’t seen her in such a disheveled state since their school days.

“Hold your horses, Granger. I’m here to help.”

“I have a best friend to find and you are absolutely  _ not _ helping by wasting my time.”

“Oh, Granger! You read my mind. That’s why I’m here.” 

He pauses to give her a chance to stop him or throw him out, but instead she says, “I don’t have all day, Malfoy, so please continue and stop beating around the bush.”

“Fine, it’s about Potter. I heard you guys think that he was taken away by those newbie Death Eaters. Well, if that is the case then I might be able to help you. They contacted me almost a month ago, urging me to join them. I refused, but I knew a few from the War. They were some of the newest additions to the Dark Lord’s army.” He pauses again to give her a moment to absorb the information he had just shared.

He had not told that particular visit to Harry, else he would have stressed himself out. The New Death Eaters had visited him half a month ago, just after Harry had informed him about his case about them.

“You mean to tell me that you just threatened them and they left you alone, unscathed. Do I look like a fool, Malfoy?” She regards him with a resentful look.

“You might not know but I am famous for some nasty spells among the Death Eaters. I know some from my aunt Bella,  _ enchanting _ woman that she was, and they are all well aware of the damage I can do. So, will you let me in or not?”

“I still don’t understand why you want to get involved in this. Is it the Death Eaters? It can’t be, or else you would have come in a lot earlier, so what is it, Malfoy?”

“Just think of it as a way to make my name shine again, yeah? Helping save the Saviour would no doubt take some mud off my tarnished name,” he says, irritation prominent in his tone. He doesn’t know how to explain that he wants to be involved because he is in love with the person who’s missing, not without revealing their relationship, and he won’t do that without Harry next to him.

She thinks for a long time, but just when Draco is about to make a comment she says, “Okay Malfoy. I’ll make an exception and let you in on the case,  _ but _ the moment I think that you are playing us, you’ll find yourself spending quaint hours staring at prison walls. I know you’re lying about the reason you’re interested, but I will let it go for now. Don’t make me regret it, okay Malfoy?”

“Absolutely.” He can’t keep the triumph out of his voice as he gets up to leave. “So, when should I start?”

“Go directly to the Auror wing of the DMLE tomorrow morning. You’ll be working with Senior Auror Weasley, Auror Mishra, and Auror Shah. They are the ones on the case specifically although the whole force knows everything. You answer to Auror Weasley, me and no one else. Also, try to keep that sass to a minimum. It won’t help you in there.” She turns back to a file in front of her and he takes it as his cue to leave. 

Just before leaving he says, “Thanks Granger,” and he thinks he sees a whisper of a smile on her face as the door shuts behind him. The assistant gives him a nasty look as he walks towards one of the Ministry Exits, and he thanks Merlin for this chance to help find his boyfriend.

*

The next morning Draco Malfoy strides in the DMLE like he owns it, wearing black trousers and a white dress shirt with its collar and top two buttons open. He has taken care to play the part of a commanding, shrewd pureblood with his perfectly tousled hair and styled clothes, but his eyes give him away. They appear gaunt, almost lifeless, with dark circles surrounding them.

“Weasley,” he says in a manner of greeting as he stops in front of the man. Weasley looks at him with poorly concealed anger and disgust. 

“Malfoy. Convinced the Ministress you knew something, did you?”

“I can be quite charming, as you might have seen. Anywho, I need to see Potter’s case file. I want a good look at it before I start making suggestions.” Weasley huffs, but nonetheless shoves the case file in his hands. Draco finds himself an empty chair and seats himself. He starts reading the file meticulously, all too aware of the whispers around him: ‘ _ What is he doing here?’ ‘Isn’t he a Death Eater?’ ‘Fucking hell, he  _ is _ hot!’ _ The last one makes him look up directly into the eyes of a bloke and a girl, and both of them avert their eyes immediately.

He tries to ignore them as he studies Harry’s file, but it’s bare, with no real leads except some far fetched guesses. They haven’t even found out where he was taken from. ‘ _ Fucking hell,’ _ he thinks, and goes in search of Weasley, who is talking to Auror Shah.

“Weasley,” he says, and leans against the wall, waiting for him to finish talking. 

“Yeah, send them there and tell me what happens, alright?” Weasley turns toward Draco as soon as the other Auror scurries away. “What, Malfoy?”

“Easy  _ mate _ , I’m here to help, remember?” Draco lifts his arms in a I-mean-no-harm gesture. “I saw that you have no idea about the place of abduction. I can help with that.”

“The whole DMLE hasn’t been able to help and you can? Alright, humor me then.”

“There’s this spell. It’s dark magic technically, but it was used during the first war to track magical signatures, kind of like the Trace but instead it shows all magical spells cast and…"

“And what, Malfoy?”

“And although it isn’t illegal, it is not practiced nowadays because it’s an invasion of privacy and if we cast it on places Potter has frequently visited, then it would be quite difficult to decipher which are the latest ones, but it is our only option,” he finishes, trying to gauge Weasley’s reaction. Finally, he agrees, and they go in search of Granger, who has made it explicitly clear that nothing in Harry's case should take place without her knowledge.

“Since it’s our only option, it can’t hurt to try. Let’s go then, boys,” Hermione says. When she sees their startled expressions, she continues,“What? You didn’t think that I would just leave you both alone? I’ve practically cancelled everything just so I can focus on finding my best friend.” 

They floo to Draco’s house and he gets to work as soon as they get there, going to his bookshelf and finding the spellbooks he had taken from the Manor. 

As soon as they cast the spell he regrets it, because the whole house fucking lighs up. All over the living room he can see evidence of Harry, small spells for heating or cooking, a  _ lumos, _ and some more private spells for lube, cleaning, stretching, and many others. He sees the most recent ones on the couch where Harry had practically pounced on him three days ago. Behind him, he hears Weasley gasp in horror and he turns around to see a shocked Weasley and a very  _ smug _ Granger. He doesn’t know if he wants the ground to swallow him or to just disappear into thin air. Right now, either would be fucking great.

“What the fuck happened here?” 

It’s Weasley who breaks the silence first, and Draco thinks it would be prudent to dodge the questions with some of his signature sass, so he says, “What do you reckon, Weasley?” Where he gets the confidence to say that he doesn’t know. He has just outed himself and Harry to  _ Harry _ ’s best mates. What does one do in a situation like this, anyway?

“Now, now, Ronald. I’m sure Malfoy has some explaining to do, but why don’t we first find the last spell or magical mark Harry left here.” 

It’s just his luck that the last spell cast is a fucking vanishing spell, and Draco goes red.

“Potter went--” At Granger’s look, he rephrases, “Harry went outside to apparate because I have anti-apparition wards all over and he didn’t want to use the floo because it’s traceable.”

“You were quite careful about this whole thing, weren’t you?” Granger asks, and he nods.

“So we need to go outside my wards to see if he was abducted from there or not,” Draco says. Weasley stays silent through all of it and it makes Draco just a little bit uncomfortable, not that he would ever admit it. 

They find Harry’s signature just outside Draco’s wards, so they follow him to the back entry of the Ministry at the end of Knockturn Alley. They look around to see varied looks of mistrust, distaste and veiled anger aimed at him from passerbyers. He tries to ignore most of them-- it helps that he is with a Senior Auror and the Ministress herself, but not by much. He does the spell again, trying to be discreet this time in case they are overheard. 

The spell reveals hundreds of spell marks, so it is difficult to decipher which is Harry’s newest one. The three of them try their best and after almost an hour of work Draco is able to find the one from three days ago. It shows that Harry arrived there, but there is no sign of a struggle after that, indicating that Harry had made it into the Ministry building safely, which obviously wasn’t the case.

“This was a waste of time,” Draco says at last, running his hands through his hair. “Not only did I….out us, but I can’t even find him. Useless piece of shit!” he curses himself and closes his eyes, trying to calm down, but it isn't helping at all. 

He is about to apologise when Weasley says, “Wait--look at that!” They look in the direction he is pointing and sure enough there is a magical mark a little further to their left, beside an old tumbledown. They go to investigate and Weasley recognises it as an incomplete patronus spell.

“This is it, then. He tried to send help but he must have been knocked down or disarmed. I’m informing the force. We’re coming here and investigating each and every shop. I don’t care if it costs me a limb, I’ll do whatever it takes to get my best mate back,” Weasley says. He looks at Draco and continues, “He’ll be in for a hell of a yelling when I find his sorry arse, though. I can’t believe he’s been lying to us.”

“I’m sure he will be,” Draco replies, knowing that it was Weasley’s way of saying that he accepted them, and he breathes away the tension he hadn’t been aware he was holding.

Once they are back in the Ministry, Weasley gets busy gathering all the required Aurors while Granger takes the book of spells from him for studying. Draco pauses to talk to her.

“I think Pansy will be of help.”

“Parkinson? Editor of Witch Weekly?” Hermione asks, intrigued.

“The very same, she has… connections all over the place. She is the owner of Parkinson Potions, so she likely knows about the illegal potion trading going on. We still have no idea who took Harry, and she might have heard something”

“Ah yes, of course.” She taps her finger on her lips, once, twice, thrice before continuing. “Malfoy, the Ministry might overlook some things, but if your best friend is any way involved with Harry’s disappearance, she’ll be in for something much worse than Azkaban.” She returns to her files and he knows he has been dismissed with just a small, lovely threat.

“You knew, didn’t you Granger?” he asks when he reaches the door, unable to help himself. 

“There are a very  _ very _ few things that go on around here that I don’t know of. An ex-nemesis asking about my friend no less than five times in two days isn’t one of them. There can be only two possible answers for why, and I thought I knew which one it was.” She glances at him and gives him a tiny smile before going back to her work. 

*

He takes a deep breath before flooing to Pansy’s house. He knows that there is a potential chance that he will need to out their relationship to Pansy as well, and he feels guilty for not getting Harry’s consent.

“Hello, love,” Pansy greets him as soon as he arrives, kissing his cheek.

“Pans, how are you?” he asks as he sits down. 

“Draco, love, I could ask you the same thing. You look terrible.”

“I know, it’s, well… I need your help with something.”

“You know I’ll always be there for you, Draco,” she vows. “Please go on.”

“Do you know anything about Potter’s kidnapping? Oh, don’t give me that look. You and I both know that of anyone it would be you who would know all about it,” he blurts.

“Draco…” She looks at him with her light brown eyes, trying to decipher his intentions.

“Pans please. You know this is important else I wouldn’t be asking,” he pleads with her. Pansy might be his best friend, but just giving away information like this would be outrageous.

“I know it is, but why, Draco? What are you up to?”

“So you know, then?”

“I do.” She keeps a neutral expression, giving nothing away. It is the traditional Slytherin mask that he knows all too well.

He begs with his eyes. Pansy has always been able to read him well, and he just hopes she can do it now in order to see how important this is to him. 

She sighs, “Fine, I’ll tell you what I know, but afterwards you need to tell me why.”

“I promise,” he says. Pansy summons two glasses of wine and they settle on the couch. As they finish the bottle, she tells him everything she knows.

*

“Thanks again, Pans. What would I do without you?”

“Die, probably,” she laughs, and then says in a serious tone, “Make sure no one finds out it was me, okay?”

“Of course,” he says, and with that he is gone. It’s almost 1 am when he leaves, so he floos straight home, and plans to report what he has found out first thing in the morning.

***.

Harry opens his eyes to find himself in a soft bed. He reaches for his specs and soon finds them on the bedside table. He looks around the room, struggling to comprehend what was going on. He clearly remembers being abducted from Knockturn, but nothing after that is clear.

_ ‘What am I doing here? Did my patronus work? Where am I?’  _ All these thoughts plague Harry’s mind, but before he can even try to find their answers, the bedroom door opens and a figure comes in.

“Harry Potter,” the person says, giving away nothing. 

“What the fuck do you want?” he inquires, speaking with all of his Auror confidence.

“I’m here to offer you two choices,” the stranger drawls. “Choose the first and die,  _ or _ become the New Dark Lord.” The person regards him with a solemn expression, his eyes full of glee as if he knows what Harry will say.

“ _ New Dark Lord?  _ Not in a million years, I would rather die!” he declares loudly, but the other person just smirks.

*** 

  
  


Draco walks into the Ministry first thing in the morning, eager to share the information he had gotten from Pansy the night before. He barges into the office with no preamble at all; there is no way that Granger isn’t in. He immediately regrets every life choice he has ever made when he sees Weasley and Granger in a heated snogging session. He tries to appear unfazed as they break apart, Weasley shooting daggers at him while Granger adjusts her work suit.

“Malfoy….” Weasley more or less growls at him. 

“May I know the reason behind your uninvited intrusion into my office at this hour, Malfoy?” Granger asks at last, sitting down on her chair. 

“You mean intrusion on your make out session when your best mate is missing?” he sneers at them, using his best mask of nonchalance. It works, and Weasley takes a threatening step towards him, but Granger stops him. 

"What is it, Draco?" She asks as she fixes him with a I-am-the-Ministress-of-Magic-so-don't-fuck-with-me stare. 

"You should know that while you both were at it, I found a lead. I have a fair idea about where Harry could be."

"He is in Lewes, yes we know." 

Draco is shocked, to say the least, when Weasley utters those words. 

"How……..?" he asks, confused. 

"We’re not Aurors just for show, you know?" Weasley says.

"But the question is, how do  _ you _ know, Malfoy?" Granger asks him, placing a hand under her chin. 

"I have a friend who has contacts all over. I'm not going to divulge their name, so don't even ask" he says tersely. 

"Fine. Ron, love, send a team of Hitwizards immediately, and even a few Aurors if needed. Peasegood will be here in no time, ask him for the best ones. And you are not allowed to participate this time, make that entirely clear. If they can take Harry, there is a good chance they might go after you, too, and I cannot afford another missing person just now," Granger requests Weasley. 

He gives her a smile before fondly saying, "Yes Ministress." He kisses her softly, smirking when Draco makes a retching sound, and then is gone. 

"Your source is Parkinson, yes? You mentioned her yesterday," Granger questions, but Draco ignores her completely. 

"I'm going back to my shop. Please send a message when they come back. Circe knows what they have done to Harry. I'm stocking up on as many healing potions as I can," he says instead. 

"You do that, Malfoy. I'll send for you when the Aurors come back." She dismisses him and then starts rummaging through her towers of files. 

  
  


***

Hermione is just about to produce her patronus when a silver swan flies in. It stops directly in front of her and it says in Draco's voice, "Granger, I know you said that you'll send a message yourself but I'm frantic. It's been more than twelve hours since the Aurors went! What is happening? If I don't get a message back, I'll be coming in myself!" The swan flies all around the room, filling it with happiness before vanishing. 

Hermione is surprised that Draco can produce a patronus, not to mention such a majestic one. She sends a patronus, telling him that she was just going to send a message and he should come by because the news wasn’t great. 

She regrets adding the last line; Draco would be worried that something bad had happened to Harry. Well, something had happened to Harry, according to the Hitwizards and the handful of Aurors that had come back, but it certainly was not what Draco would presumed. ‘ _ The both of them did keep their relationship in dark for months _ ,’ she thinks wistfully, justifying her harsh wording. 

It has not even been ten minutes since she had sent her patronus when Draco rushes into her office without any preamble whatsoever.

"Next time, Malfoy, you barge in like  _ that _ I'm going to have you banned from the Ministry altogether." She smiles sweetly at him, and he pauses for a whole second, before nodding. 

"Granger, where is Harry? And what is the problem?" he demands feebly, adding a 'please' as an afterthought.

***

"I don't buy it," he says. 

"It's not something you can buy!" Granger more-or-less yells at him. 

"I still don't fucking buy it, okay? Have you gone nuts, Granger? Are you even hearing yourself?!" he yells back. 

"Hermione is speaking the truth, Malfoy. I had my personal Aurors sent. The ones whom I trust with my life, alright?" Weasley says as he enters the room, stress munching on a protein bar. 

"How do you know they weren't just confunded?"

"Because I had all of them checked at Mungo's, and the results show they are all of sound mind." He sits down beside Draco. 

"How are you not worried then? He might be under an Imperius," he voices, but Weasley just chuckles. 

"Because Harry can throw it off perfectly. It doesn't even require his attention nowadays." 

"Okay." He thinks about his conversation with Granger again and asks, "Granger, what did you say he said again?"

"He said, 'Dragons are powerful and majestic creatures, they cannot be caged. You better leave before I use them on you and don't come back, else you will be burnt.' That was the threat he gave after all the sweet-talk." Granger replies almost immediately. 

"Do you -- do you think he was trying to say something?" Draco inquires. 

"Dragons could have meant you, but that's it. I don't get what the other parts means." She looks at him helplessly and Draco realises that this might be the first time Hermione Granger is unable to solve a mystery. 

He paces the whole room thrice, getting dirty looks from Weasley. Something is gnawing at the edge of his mind. He is sure Harry is trying to send him a message, but the question is what? What is Harry trying to tell him, and why him? How did he know that Draco was on the case? The more he thinks about it, the more it confuses him. 

"Malfoy just--" Weasley starts, but he holds up a hand to shush him at once. He is close to finding the answer, there is just one more piece left to solve. 

"Fucking hell!" he swears loudly and looks at the couple sitting in front of him. He puts his hands on the table and takes a deep breath. 

"That's it! Hermione, I got it! Shit- Harry you fucking bastard!" He doesn't know what to do; he wants to cry and laugh at the same time. He doesn't know how his oblivious, soft, idiot of a boyfriend had become so smart all of a sudden!

"We-- I have to go there!" He takes in their bewildered expressions for the first time. 

"Care to explain to us as well?" Granger asks. 

"It's a guess, but I'm sure I'm interpreting it right," he says.

"Enlighten us, then," Weasley says as he leans back on his chair. 

So he goes into a detailed analysis of what Harry actually meant by those last two sentences. It had taken him a lot to connect the dots. 

When he finishes, both of them look at him with surprised yet thoughtful expressions, and he knows that he has them convinced. 

"We leave tomorrow," Granger says after several moments, and before he can even open his mouth to protest, she continues, "It will be safer, and he will know then that we mean no harm. Malfoy, go home. Be back at 9 tomorrow morning, and we are coming with. No arguments." Her tone makes it clear that he'll pay dearly if he so much so  _ tries _ otherwise. He goes home, dejected but hopefully he had guessed Harry's words correctly, else they all would be seriously doomed. 

*

"Ready?" He asks as they stand in front of the gates of the mansion where Harry is currently being kept or, rather _ , _ where he has been living. 

"This is our best mate of thirteen years we are talking about, you realize?" Weasley jibes, but he can tell that the man is as nervous as Draco himself. 

"Let's do this, then!" Granger exclaims, and they push open the door, which is surprisingly unlocked, and they let themselves in without any resistance at all. 

They find themselves standing in a foyer with enormous staircases on either side of it. The hall is beautifully decorated, resembling the one in the Manor. There is a huge golden chandelier hanging above their heads and floor to ceiling windows on one side of the room. It doesn’t resemble a place where someone who is abducted would be kept, making Draco's fears even worse.

What if the Hitwizards were saying the truth? That would mean--

"Look who we have here," a familiar voice calls from the top of the stairs. He whips his head towards the voice immediately; he would recognize that voice anywhere. 

"The mudblood, the blood traitor, and the  _ redeemed  _ Death Eater" He practically spats the last words. Draco can't believe his ears, and beside him he hears Granger and Weasley gasp in horror. 

" _ Harry! _ " Granger exclaims, on the verge of tears. 

"Mate, how  _ dare _ you say that!" Weasley growls at the same time. 

Draco just looks at Harry. He looks everything the Dark Lord looked like, and much more. He looks much more powerful and much stronger. Draco looks into his eyes, trying to see  _ his _ Harry there, because there hasn't been a day in his life when Draco Malfoy hasn’t been able to decipher Harry Potter's emotions. After all, he had been doing it since they were eleven, and he had only gotten better at it. 

Harry closes his eyes momentarily, but when he opens them and looks at Draco, they are filled with pure malice. The hatred in them doesn't even come close to matching what he saw all those years back when they were ‘arch enemies’. No, this is much darker, much stronger. This can easily break Draco. 

"Harry…" he whispers, barely audible, but he knows Harry hears him by the way he freezes for a second. 

"None of you deserve to address me, let alone call me by my given name," he sneers at them, and it just about breaks Draco's heart. 

"Dragons are extremely smart and resourceful. They go to great lengths to get and  _ keep  _ what is theirs. Potter, you better have a good explanation for what you are doing here." His voice isn't loud, but it can be heard from all corners of the room. 

Harry's expression sombers for a moment. Draco looks into his eyes and sees it at last. The Harry he loves so dearly is visible for just a second before it disappears. 

"As if I have to explain anything to  _ you _ of all people. But I do have a proposition for you," he adds, "All of you."

Draco takes a step on the stairs and starts climbing them, paying no heed to Weasley and Granger's warning. Harry just watches him, trying to gauge his motives. 

He stands directly in front of him. He looks into his emerald eyes, showing Harry his own hurt and anguish. Harry takes a sharp breath when he sees  _ exactly _ what he has done to Draco. He slowly leans forward and presses a light kiss on his lips. Harry freezes instantly, but Draco needs this, he needs to know that this is his Harry. Just a small gesture would suffice. He is about to break apart when he feels Harry kiss back, and his heart is overjoyed, soaring high in that second. Just then, Harry pushes him away abruptly.

"Get  _ off _ me! You filthy piece of shit! Who do you think you are to  _ assault _ me like that, in my  _ own  _ house?" Harry pushes him away, his face pinched in disgust. 

"Why, Potter, I'm your boyfriend of course," Draco drawls, "The one who fucks you so good, each and every time. Who fucks you until you are  _ begging _ me to come, yeah? That one." 

"Stop speaking rubbish, Malfoy!" Harry yells, his eyes dark with lust, "and get the fuck away from me, you mudblood loving fool!"

"Harry! Stop saying that word!" Weasley shouts at him. "I'm warning you!" 

"Oh yeah? And what would you do, blood traitor? Crucio me?" Harry laughs, coldly, and Draco is fucking terrified. He doesn't know this Harry, despite the desperate act he is putting on. 

"Weasley, give up.  _ Love _ , why don't you tell us about this proposition you're talking about?" Draco keeps his tone posh and his voice sickly sweet. 

"Don't call me that," Harry growls. 

"Oh? Well what are you going to do about it, love?" Draco taunts him. He knows this game-- it's the same one they played six years ago. Riling Harry has always been easy for Draco, and he knows  _ exactly _ how to get under his skin. 

Harry ignores him, and instead says, "I've changed my mind about it. I don't want nothing from you lot. Leave now, I'm bored." He waves his hand dismissively but Draco is unfazed, although Granger's face crumples considerably and Weasley looks hurt. 

"Harry…" He whispers in the same tone he has used so many times when they are alone. 

"Are you daft, Malfoy? Or have you gone deaf? I said I don't  _ want _ you. Get the hell out of here," Harry bellows after one short, unadulterated second of love flashes clearly in his eyes. 

Weasley and Granger look up at Harry once, their expressions hurt and upset beyond anything else. "Malfoy, let's go," Granger says at last. "And to think I actually was planning to move literal worlds just because  _ my _ best mate had been missing." Granger gives a hollow laugh, borderline hysterical. 

She locks eyes with Draco once, before apparating away with her husband. 

"A fox doesn't trust a lion. The lion needs to earn the trust of the jungle to become the king," Harry murmurs, Draco just looks at him, knowing this is something Harry wanted him to hear, and that he knows only Draco can untangle it. 

"Scum, you won't follow your  _ friends _ ? No? Great," Harry spats, loud enough to be heard throughout the room. 

"Zabini!" he calls, and Draco's eyes widen when he sees his best mate coming in from one of the rooms. He is so flabbergasted that he doesn't even realize what is happening until Blaise is pointing his wand at him. 

"Blaise…" he says in disbelief. This could not be happening. 

"Don't talk, Draco. Don’t make this more difficult for me than it already is. You don't understand what's happening."

"So tell me!" he urges, but Blaise just shakes his head. 

"Zabini, why don't we just, I don't know, kill him, hm? Or maybe just toy with him?" Harry asks, his voice so cruel that Draco visibly shudders. 

"Ha! Wouldn't that be nice, my Lord. Why don't we just transport him back to the mudblood loving Ministry for now? Next time we can play?" Blaise suggests. 

"Potter, you can't do this!" He yells at Harry. 

"Oh, Malfoy, I think I just did." Harry smiles at him and Draco's stomach turns. 

"I'll be back, Potter!" He growls. 

"Oh Malfoy, the pleasure will be all mine, and it will come from the end of my wand." Harry then does something weird. He touches-- no grips-- his throat in a choking gesture. Draco catches a glimpse of a necklace lying around his neck, but Harry doesn’t stop there. He pushes his hand up and rests it for a second on his mouth. The gesture is familiar, but Draco doesn’t think that Harry is trying to taunt him, but if not so then what?

Before he can begin to comprehend what all it means, Harry orders Blaise to transport him and he suddenly finds himself standing outside the Ministry entry from which Harry was taken from. He enters the Ministry and immediately starts towards the Ministress' office. He had thought that Harry was asking him to meet him, that he was in need and that Draco would be able to help, but the Harry he had just seen had looked fine. More than fine-- he was in the lap of all the luxury that Draco had been a blessed victim to for all his childhood, and Draco really doesn't know what Harry's game plan is.

Harry had used the m-word. He had done everything he was against. A small part of Draco’s mind supplies that maybe, just maybe, Harry wasn't acting at all and that he was making up the clues that the person he loved still remained, unable to believe that Harry Potter could turn bad. Harry Potter has always been what he had considered good, but now  _ this! _ This whole thing was making him question everything in his life. He doesn't know what he would do if Harry was truly gone. Should he go back and grovel to Harry to let him join? Would becoming a Death Eater be worth it if he could be with Harry? He doesn’t want to-- the person he has become will fight for what is right even if it means fighting the love of his life. Harry Sodding Potter might be his partner but Draco will not be swayed towards Dark Magic again, will not be manipulated into joining this ideologic group, even at the cost of his own life and love. He is better than that. He has  _ become _ better than that. 

When he reaches Granger's office, he remembers her earlier warning and  _ knocks  _ on the door. He can hear them muttering inside. It's Weasley who asks him to come in after several moments of silence. 

Granger is in her chair, but her head is down and he knows that she is crying. She is rubbing her arm where she still bears the scars carved by his aunt. 

"I'm sorry Granger, Weasley." He nods towards both of them. Granger gives him a tiny smile, although it doesn't even begin to convey an inkling of happiness. 

"Why are you sorry? You didn't make Harry say all that." 

"Still, I was the one who suggested going there."

"And I was the one who insisted upon accompanying you. So don't, okay?" Draco nods and stands there awkwardly, not sure what he should do. 

Weasley kindly asks him to take a seat and he is thankful for that. It's almost five minutes before Granger quells her tears and regains her Ministress cool. 

"Okay, Ron, do whatever you need to do to stop the New Death Eaters and their  _ Dark Lord _ . I had presumed that Harry was undercover, but we appear to have been proven wrong." She sighs and turns to him, "Draco, since Harry has been found and it doesn't look like you are together any longer, I'll have to ask you to leave the case and return the temporary badge you were given on your first day." 

In that moment, Draco perfectly understands exactly why Hermione Granger had been made the youngest Ministress of Magic, and he is in awe. He wouldn't have known that she was at all affected by the loss of her best friend if it weren't for her bloodshot eyes and the fact that he had witnessed her breakdown himself. 

"Granger-- Hermione, wait!” he cuts in. “I, uh, think that he  _ is  _ undercover. He told me something after you both left. I haven't got it all together yet, but I know. Harry won’t-- he can’t be!” 

His eyes prickle at the thought of being wrong but he forces the tears away. 

" _ Draco _ , we know this is difficult but I don't think we have got a choice any more," Hermione replies calmly. "The Harry I knew would never have used that slur, not after he saw the after effects of that sort of prejudice with his own eyes." She shakes her head, trying to clear her thoughts. 

"Hermione, just hear me out, alright?" he says frantically. "Let me tell you everything. You’ll want to hear it, I swear ." 

*

"I still think it's just your mind unable to take in the fact that Harry is actually gone," Hermione says after he finishes. 

"No it can't be. and Blaise? He is an  _ Unspeakable!  _ After the war, us Slytherins had to work so hard to prove that we could be trusted, we went through many hardships to be where we are now. He would never give it away just like that," Draco tries to explain, but he can see that Hermione isn't convinced. 

"I can give you access to the rest of the investigation, but all the Aurors will be dropping the case. They'll be trying to capture the New Death Eaters, and they won't be asked to spare Harry unless you prove otherwise," Hermione says at last. 

"Mione, I'll work with Malfoy. He won't be able to do it alone, he would need permission to see files which I already have access to," Weasley says immediately, and Draco nods gratefully at him. 

*

"You sure, mate?"  _ Ron _ asks as he explains his latest theory to him. 

"Not really, but yes." They are sitting in the living room of Draco's house, looking over the case file that detailed Harry's words and actions. Never in his life would he have envisioned a day when Ron Weasley would be calling him  _ mate _ while sitting in his living room alone. He had prepared himself for the eventual coming out and having to spend time with Harry's best mates, but not just by himself. This was getting insane. 

"So you think there is a mole in the Ministry who is behind this?" Ron asks, grimacing at the idea that it was likely to be true. 

"Should be, else Blaise couldn't have been taken. The  _ fox _ could be anyone." As an afterthought, Draco says, "I am going to ask for help from the person who helped with Harry's location earlier.'

"And you're not going to tell me who?"

"I would, but loyalty is everything for me," Draco says unapologetically. 

"I- fine. Don't tell me, but go talk to them. And inform me after, yeah? Let’s wrap up for today, it's late and I'm beyond tired," Weasley reasons. Draco nods in agreement and they clean up all the papers strewn all over the room. 

  
  


***

"Zabini." Harry nods as he enters the room. His followers, along with Zabini, stop their discussion and greet him, bowing down. 

"Anything you require, my Lord?" Zabini asks with a glint in his eyes. 

"Some elf made wine would suffice for now. And send for Parkinson," he commands and strides out of the room. 

He sits near the window with the wine glass in hand, taking miniscule sips as he thinks back of his interaction with Draco the other day. 

He hopes he was able to throw Draco off his back with his mixed signals. He was angry with Draco for revealing their affair to his former best friends, especially now that he wouldn't be with them ever again. He was a bit sad, but he had pushed those feelings far away.

He touches the neckpiece lying on his neck subconsciously. It reminds him that he still isn't fully trusted by the Death Eaters, and that he would die the minute he tried to betray them. Obviously, he cannot remove the pendent himself. It was attached with a spell that the man, McGravel, had placed on him. The spell was a bit like the fidelius charm, but different. The man had told Harry that  _ his _ boss might have recruited him to act as the New Dark Lord, but that didn't mean he could be free to do anything he pleased, or at least not  _ yet.  _

His first priority is finding out who this mysterious boss that McGravel worked for was, but he hasn’t yet made any progress. The sooner he can solve the mystery, the better, he thinks, and he is growing impatient with himself. After all, he’s a Senior Auror.

***

"Pansy what the  _ fuck _ ?" Draco says in disbelief. 

"I'm sorry, love but I can't-" Pansy shudders in pain as she tries to explain. 

"Pansy what happened? Tell me! What changed in the last three days?" he demands, but he is met with silence and a pleading look.

"He-" she grimaces again, and he reluctantly cuts her off, preventing her from saying anything else. Clearly, there was something physically stopping her from talking.

"He? There is someone else involved in this, someone I know? Just nod or shake your head, don't try to speak," he questions her. 

She shakes her head but writes 'MOM' in the air with her wand, so Draco tries again, "He is in the Ministry?" A nod. 

"There's a mole in the fucking Ministry? The top person of this whole drama?" he asks, the wheels in his mind already turning. Pansy eagerly nods her head, although she looks somewhat nauseated. 

"So you can't speak about them because…..?" he says, trailing off, and Pansy lifts the pendant on her neck. The necklace looks familiar, and it strikes Draco that it looks eerily similar to the ones he saw on Blaise and Harry. 

"Are you saying that that has something to do with all this?" he asks, and Pansy desperately nods her head, trying to help him understand. 

She makes several hand gestures, which Draco struggles to interpret. At last, he tentatively asks, "You can't speak because of the bloody necklace and you can confirm someone from the Ministry is behind this. Okay, I got that. But what else? We, uh, need to check our watches?" 

Pansy shakes her head and tries to explain again, but it doesn't help, and he still can't understand what she is trying to tell him. Eventually, he leaves her house, feeling dejected but just a  _ tiny  _ bit of hopeful. 

Without thinking, he apparates to Lewes; he needs more information and seeing Harry  _ has  _ to be able help him find it. He doesn't care about the consequences anymore. 

  
  


"Malfoy, why are you here again? Do near death experiences get you off?" Harry sneers at him. 

"Why Potter, You would know what I get off on best, wouldn’t you?" Draco smirks back. 

Harry's face darkens at the jibe, but he chooses to ignore it in favour of asking Draco why he was there. 

"Why,  _ darling, _ I'm here to meet my lover, of course." Draco smiles at him, using the fake sweetness he had learnt early in his childhood from watching his  _ beloved _ father.

"Oh, is that it? Come up here then, greet me  _ properly, _ " Harry challenges, and Draco does. He wouldn’t be Draco Malfoy if he didn't rise to every challenge Harry Potter ever threw at him in his life. 

  
  


He stands in front of him and lightly brushes his hand across Harry's cheek. Harry closes his eyes momentarily before shoving his hand away. Draco tries his best not to broadcast his hurt, but he doesn't know if he succeeds. 

"I don’t think I was very clear before. Let me spell it out for you." Hurt and agony flashes in Harry's eyes as he says the next words. "I am _breaking_ _up_ with you."

"I don't accept," he says indignantly. 

" _ It's not something you accept,  _ Malfoy. This is me telling you," Harry yells and Draco smirks. He had been trying to rile Harry up, and he was pleased at his success.

"Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah. Did you really think that I would actually be interested in dating _ you _ ? I'm the Saviour and now the New Dark Lord. And who are you, Draco? First a Death Eater who couldn't even kill a person to save his own life," Harry sneers and Draco knows exactly what he is referring to. "And now you're a  _ redeemed civilian, _ is it? If you think that the people have forgotten and forgiven, you're so terribly wrong. They'll never forget. And as for now, even if they did, you have no place to go. Not among our ranks, and if you believe even for a second that the people would still think of you as a changed person when I take over, you live in a fool's paradise, Malfoy." Harry spats his name and it takes every ounce of his self control to not cry. 

Harry, like always, had hit the right nerve and made him feel raw and exposed. He feels just like he did during the War. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, but it's no good. He can still feel his eyes burning and his fists are balled up at his sides. He wants to apparate home, but he needs to leave the house in order to do so. He starts towards the door but Harry stops him.

"Draco wait…" Harry starts, and he immediately looks into his eyes, because that was the voice of his Harry and not this stranger in his body. But then Harry's lips curl and he laughs cruelly, "Aww look at this, young Dray Dray thinks there's still a chance for him." 

Harry laughs some more, shattering Draco's heart completely this time, before taking a deep breath and calling  _ Pansy's _ name and Draco's eyes widen in horror when she appears from one of the rooms on the floor above. 

He can't believe his eyes; he had  _ just _ seen Pansy. Yes, he knows it takes almost no time at all to travel magically, but he can't even comprehend what she is doing here with the Death Eaters and  _ Harry _ . She had been one of the only ones who hadn't been involved with Voldemort during the War, so what the bloody hell was she doing here, getting all buddy buddy with these sick fucks? She was a person who had dangerous contacts,  _ not  _ an insider _! _

"Pans…" he tries, but he is silenced by a look from her. 

"You called, my Lord?" she asks Harry instead.

"Oh yes, wouldn't you just love to  _ play  _ with your best mate?" Harry laughs. 

"Whatever you say, my Lord." Pansy replies in the same monotone voice. He cannot believe his ears; this isn't the Pansy Parkinson he has known for the last seventeen years and loved.  _ It can't be! _

"Death,  _ Draco. _ Death is the consequence, death. Get that word implanted inside your head. Death for telling and opening, death, Draco, death." Harry repeats, and he remembers that Harry had threatened death the last time they had met. 

Pansy's eyes fly to Harry's face in an instant. She widens her eyes but says nothing else. 

Does this mean that his Harry was no more and he is going to die? Is this how he was going to go out? At the hands of his best friend and in front of his lover--  _ former lover. _ To make matters worse, Harry calls Blaise and some others to  _ watch _ as well. Draco feels sick to the core; this is just like how it was during the last year of the War, and he wants to vomit all over the expensive flooring.

Panic begins to rise inside Draco, he starts thinking of ways to flee, but he knows there are Apparation wards all over the house and he'll be long dead before he makes it within five feet to the door, so instead he just stands in shock. 

"Parkinson, be a dear and kill our precious heartthrob traitor," Harry barks, his voice dripping with sugary malice.

"Now!" he bellows when she doesn't move. Pansy looks up at Harry, and they seem to have a silent conversation in the matter of moments. Draco's blood boils at their shared moment. That is  _ his _ boyfriend and  _ his  _ best friend. They were supposed to have silent conversations with  _ him _ and not with each other! 

Harry averts his eyes from Draco and again touches his neck piece, like he had done the last time, but before Draco can think anything of it, Pansy turns towards him and lifts her wand, avoiding his gaze.

Pansy finally looks at him and he braces himself for the inevitable. He wants to close his eyes and wait for it to come, but he isn't a  _ Malfoy _ for nothing, so he keeps his eyes open and looks defiantly at Harry. It didn't matter that Pansy would be the one to do the dirty work. Just as the deaths during the war were the fault of Voldemort, this would be on Harry and Harry alone.

One moment is looking at Harry, and in the next he is standing in front of his own house. For a second he is disoriented, but then he realizes that Pansy must have done this. He doesn't know whether to curse or thank his lucky stars. He had gotten out of a life threatening situation, but his best friend might very well face dire consequences for saving his skin.

He tries not to think of his best friend being tortured at the hands of his former lover, but of course he isn't that lucky. 

He goes straight towards his bed and doesn't move for the next three days. 

On the fourth day, the power couple makes an entry to his house through his floo. They find Draco in a state of dishevelment. His hair is a mess, there are take away boxes and ice cream cartons all over the place, and an uncountable amount of Odgen's finest bottles on the floor.

"What the fuck happened here?" Hermione asks as she starts trying to make the place livable again. 

"Just me and my stupid heart dying, nothing much. You were right, Hermione. Harry is no longer the person we knew him to be," he slurs, his head hurting from all the drinking plus the hangover. 

"You went to him! Oh Draco… you shouldn't have. I'm sorry…" Hermione looks concerned, but he can't fathom why. 

"Mate, we think you are making a mistake here. Harry is still the person he always was. This can't be true, trust us," Ron tells him, and Draco's heart really wants to believe him.

"But--" he starts.

"No buts. You listen to me, and listen to me good," Ron orders, and he tells Draco why Harry would never turn dark. Draco, for his part, listens as much as he can, which isn't much, but in the end he is somewhat convinced that maybe, just maybe, Ron is correct and Harry is in fact just pretending. 

They both leave him after getting him to promise that they would see him in a couple of hours after he revives himself from the dead again. Draco slowly gets up and downs a hangover potion, which he finds in his medicine cabinet. He rethinks the words Pansy said the other day and the actions after that. 

If what Pansy had said was true, someone was forcing his two best friends and his boyfriend into complacency, and Draco felt that he had just been given a second chance to solve the mystery and save his loved ones. He doesn't know the names of many heads in the Ministry, and he reprimands himself for that and decides to start his work immediately. He sends his patronus ahead of him to inform  _ Ron _ that he is coming early and gathers the things he will need (a notebook, some pens and post it-s) and leaves the house. 

*

"Who is this sod? He is the 'fox' I'm sure! But how is that of any reverence?" he yells to no one in particular, but he is just so  _ frustrated _ . 

"Mate, listen. Let's take a break. You will work better on a full stomach and some clear headspace," Ron reasons, and drags him to the cafeteria. 

They order sandwiches and coffee. They had been working for the last twelve hours or so, since Draco has stepped into the Ministry after his near death experience. 

"I'm sorry for keeping you here with me. You have a family, unlike me. I tend to forget that," Draco says after several bites. 

"Come off it, Draco. Mione understands, and moreover we are still at opposite ends about Harry's situation. She refuses to believe that Harry would call her, uh,  _ that. _ She is adamant that he has truly gone to the other side. Also, I know Harry better than some of my biological brothers. I know his ticks and tells better than anyone. He was completely still for most of the time we were there. Harry can't keep still for more than a minute. And Harry is dedicated; he'll go to any length just to uncover anything. I've seen that plenty of times," Ron shakes his head at that thought as a man with an orange cloak passes by them in the canteen. 

Draco is staring at that person, something niggling at the back of his mind. He doesn't know what he is noticing, and it isn't until some more orange cloaks pass, one of them in full uniform, that it finally _ clicks. _

"Ron!" he whisper-yells. Ron looks up at him with startled eyes. 

“What?” he says.

"Those orange cloaks! Who are they?"

"The Hit Wizards of course. Why?" Ron answers immediately, but Draco is already dragging him back towards their --for the time being-- shared office before he finishes. 

"Who is the Head of the Hit Wizards?" Draco asks as soon as he wards the door. 

"Old Peasegood." 

"Tell me more about him," Draco requests, and although his voice is demanding, his eyes are curious and gentle. 

"Has been here since Voldy's time. Promoted to Head of the Department about three years ago. Should have been just after the war, but there had been rumours about him being involved with Death Eaters. It was proved wrong, but as far as I know Kingsley wanted to test his loyalty before giving him rank. He was made Head just before Hermione ran for Ministress," Ron replies. 

"Okay," he says as he moves towards their board and writes 'Arnold Peasegood' under the suspects list and underlines it. 

"I'm pretty sure he’s the snitch. He has to be, based on the clues," Draco replies in response to Ron's unsaid question. 

"Would you care to explain your reasoning? I mean, I'm all in on proving Harry innocent, but Peasegood? That's highly unlikely mate." Ron shakes his head and Draco wants to tear out his own hair. 

"Maybe I'm wrong, but for the time being, let's focus on the other clues. Why did Harry repeat death so many times? If he was threatening me I think one time would have been more than enough. Moreover, what the hell is going on with the sodding neck pieces?" Draco suggests, and they start brainstorming again. 

  
  


*

"That's it, I'm knackered." Ron throws his hands up in the air. Draco weakly voices his disagreement, although even he can't function any longer either. Five cups of coffee aren't nearly enough to keep him going. 

Ron opens his mouth to complain when Hermione enters the office. 

She takes one look at both of them and snaps her fingers. "That's it, both of you are going home this moment, or I'm revoking your temporary badge--" she points towards Draco's badge on the table-- "and  _ you _ will be placed on a leave until this whole Death Eaters thing is solved." She points towards her husband, and even Draco winces at the thought of not being able to help Harry and his mates when he is their only chance. They had placed their trust in him, and Pansy had even suffered through Circe-knows-what for him.

"Ugh. Fine, Granger." Draco rolls his eyes and starts putting a security charm over their notes so that no one would be able to read them without Draco deactivating it. 

"You are one shrewd woman, Ministress," Ron mutters as he throws things in his bag and narrows his eyes at Hermione. 

"Also Granger, about this one--" he is cut off by Hermione, who holds up her hand, silencing him. 

"Any questions will be answered after at least eight hours, when both of you will present yourself at my office fully rested. I shouldn't see your faces at any time before that." She shoos them out of the office, and both of them reluctantly floo to their respective homes. 

He falls face first onto his bed as soon as he reaches home, not even bothering to take off his shoes, and sleeps for seven hours straight. 

*

"So it could be a  _ Fidelitatis obside _ ? Those are extremely rare and ancient, Hermione," Draco counters. 

"I know that, but the neckpieces have to be that, else I've zero idea." Hermione shrugs. They had been discussing the same arguments for the past hour, trying to understand what was actually happening with their friends and what was going on with the mysterious neck pieces. 

"Could one of you explain what that is?" Ron interjects.

" _ Fidelitatis obside  _ is somewhat like a  _ Fidelius  _ charm, but more dangerous," Hermione explains. 

"It requires the one keeping the 'secret,' to wear an accessory. The accessory could be anything: a ring, bangle, earring or, in our case, a necklace. There are different levels of  _ Fidelitatis obside _ , so Harry and the others could be affected in various ways. When or if you try to remove this accessory yourself, you'll feel the type of pain that would make  _ Cruciatus _ feel like child’s play," Draco continues, in place of Hermione. 

"It is said that death is preferable to it, and the ones who have tried to break it themselves have gone insane. So that would explain why Harry and the others are behaving like this all of a sudden," Hermione finishes, and they share a look. It makes sense, fitting with the way Pansy was grimacing with pain every time she tried to talk to Draco about the whole situation.

"That was a lot to take in, but the gist is ‘don't remove the locket unless you want to become a nutter,’" Ron summarizes, and they nod their heads. 

"I'll look into it more so we can be sure," Hermione says with a nod and a sigh. 

"We also have a suspect," Draco says tentatively and Hermione snaps her head up at him. "You are not going to like or believe it," Draco adds, and Hermione rolls her eyes. 

"You said there was a mole in the Ministry. Unless it's Robards or one of his equals, there's not much that would surprise me. I've suspicion on the Unspeakables. They are  _ very  _ secretive about their work." Hermione leans back on her chair and looks expectantly at both of them. 

Draco and Ron silently discuss-- or argue-- and come to the decision that Draco gets to drop the bomb, since he was the one who found it. 

"We think it's Peasegood," Draco mutters

"What?!"

"By your reaction, I reckon you heard correctly." Draco rolls his eyes. 

"That is a very serious accusation, and one that I'm sure you have zero proof of except for your riddles, which could mean nothing at all," Hermione replies calmly. 

"We know," Ron says reluctantly. This was something they had discussed before coming here. 

"So what should I do about it? I presume you both want some sort of help," Hermione asks. 

"We do, actually." Draco is voicing this for the first time, and he knows he should have discussed it with Ron beforehand, but now there was no point. "We want to investigate him, or at least follow him and see if he is up to anything. Seeing if he disappears at sudden moments or reacts strangely when we talk about the Death Eaters, the sort. But the thing is, without you knowing or agreeing this will be so bloody difficult."

"I can't just give you permission to stalk my department heads! Why don't you explain why you think he is the culprit, and maybe we can come to a compromise somehow?" Hermione suggests, and they do just that. 

"Okay, from the start then?" Draco asks, and Hermione nods her head in agreement. 

"Remember Harry saying that thing about the Dragons? Well, to be perfectly honest I didn't understand much of what he was trying to say in the moment either, but I figured the word ‘dragon’ was referring to me. I thought that ‘the Dragons can't be caged’ meant that I couldn't be kept away from Harry, and the burning part was telling me that I should come see him," he explains as well as he can. 

"Yes, I thought along the same lines after you said that you wanted to go visit Harry, but how--" Hermione starts, but he stops her before they can get sidetracked. The whole thing was immensely complex, and he didn't want to mess it up. 

"Let me get it all out of the way before you start asking the questions, okay?" Draco leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath before starting again. "Like Ron, I had noticed some ticks as well. I would see a flash of hurt or a glimpse of love and anguish in his eyes that were pretty clear to me. Plus, what he said about the fox after you had left had an underlying meaning, I was sure of it, so I started playing them over and over in my head until I figured it out."

He flashes a grin at Ron and says, "It was Ron who helped me figure it out. He suggested going to the Ministry cafeteria, and the Hitwizards there looked familiar. It wasn't until I saw one in full uniform that it stuck. The uniforms resembled that of a fox's fur; orange with a black lining." He could already see the wheels of Hermione's mind turning. "It would be quite surreal if an ordinary Hitwizard was the person behind the Neo-Death Eater movement. Usually, corrupted people are at the top. I asked Ron about the Head of the Hitwizards and he told me about the rumours of Peasegood’s involvement with Voldemort. Everything about him fit what we had been looking for." Finishing, he thinks that, out loud, his argument does in fact seem somewhat reasonable.

“It makes sense, but there isn’t enough hard evidence to launch a whole investigation. Ron, you should know that,” Hermione says after several moments.

Ron starts to protest, but Draco beats him to it, “Not enough! Granger you can’t be serious!”

“I'm afraid I am, Draco. Besides, if you are correct and we start an official investigation, then Harry and the others could be put in serious danger.” She smirks at him as she continues. “What I mean is that we should investigate him, but not publically. As far as everyone is concerned, I know nothing about this.”

“Is it just me, or does the whole Golden Trio seem a lot more Slytherin these days?” Draco wonders out loud.

“I’ll leave that up to you to decide, Malfoy. Now, off you both go. I have work to do and you both need to eat and sleep,” she orders, smiling as she does so.  _ ‘Maybe the Gryffindorks aren’t that bad after all,’  _ Draco thinks as he makes his way towards his office.

*

“Over my dead body!” Ron yells as he throws away the papers he had just received.

“Don’t be shy, Weasley, tell me what one needs to do in order for you to wish for death?” Draco quips, receiving a half-hearted glare from Ron.

“This git thinks he can just take away the whole case from the Auror force! Apparently, the Hitwizards are “better equipped to deal with the New Death Eaters.”  _ Traitorous bastard!  _ He says he knows more about them. Of course you do, you bitch. You are their fucking leader! Of course you know them better,” Ron rants as he  _ Incendios _ the papers. “Now we can say we just never got the memo,” Ron says slyly as he vanishes the ashes.

“I’m seriously starting to get terrified of the three of you. Merlin knows what’ll happen to me when you unite,” Draco divulges, and both of them snicker.

“I’m sure that Peasegood is the culprit,” Ron declares, and Draco arches an eyebrow. “I think we should go see what he is up to now. Let’s track his schedule.” 

“You know basic disillusionment spells, I presume?” Ron asks after they charm everything under lock and key. Draco stares at him, unblinkingly, casting the best charm he can and smirking at Ron’s shocked expression.

They follow Peasegood throughout the day, but come up empty handed. It’s as if the man isn’t involved in anything nefarious at all, but Draco refuses to believe that, not when he is so sure he has solved the puzzle. 

*

Arnold Peasegood is the perfect employee, coming in at 9 am sharp and not leaving before 6 pm. He takes his lunch in the cafeteria, spending exactly thirty minutes eating every day and then going straight back to work. He talks to everyone, but never starts a conversation on his own. He is a strict Head, but rarely yells at his juniors. Over the next fewweeks that Draco and Ron have been watching him, he has approved all of the requests for holidays and has appeared to be a very approachable boss. Draco’s heart sinks when he realises that he has to be wrong; Peasegood couldn’t be the mole with the schedule he had. However, that is exactly the reason why Draco's suspicion manifests even more. 

The perfect armor that Peasegood seems to have adorned must have holes. No one can be  _ this  _ perfect, and he has heard about Percy Weasley from Harry so he knows it is true. So he keeps on digging to no end. Ron, however, seems to have given up, and he tells Draco as much after two weeks of observation. 

"Mate, I think we suspected the wrong bloke. Let's just admit it," Ron suggests. His voice is hesitant because he knows Draco will likely explode with anger, which, of course, happens. 

"Are you fucking with me, Weasley?" He slams his hands against the desk, and Ron flinches away.  "Ronald Billius Weasley, this is your best mate we are talking about. You have known him for almost thirteen years and you can still  _ believe _ that he is actually behind all this?" 

Ron flinches again at the use of his full name, but he averts his eyes and doesn't look at Draco for several silent moments. The silence is all the answer he needs. 

"You're un-fucking-believable!" He slams the door on his way out, and if the impact knocks things off the shelves, it's not like he  _ actually _ cares. 

Draco decides to go back home, thinking that a bottle of wine is exactly what he needs at the moment. Then he hits the jackpot. 

Just as he is about to floo away, he sees  _ Peasegood _ come up hurriedly behind him and floo to a place that is  _ surely _ not his home. Draco guesses that it would do him good to follow Peasegood. This is the first time he has seen Peasegood go somewhere that wasn't his house, and Draco isn't going to miss the opportunity. 

He glamours himself swiftly and floos to the same pub. He is wearing casual clothes, as casual as he ever wears, so he fits in perfectly with the crowd. He spots Peasegood ordering a whiskey at the bar. 

Draco takes a seat beside him and orders a glass of wine. It suits his image well, fitting with his expensive clothes and accessories. 

Soon, a woman joins Peasegood, and she piques Draco's interest instantly. He takes out his mobile, which he had bought almost two years ago. It had taken him an eternity to figure out how to use it, but now? Now he can use it just fine. 

He idly scrolls through the Muggle news feed, reading about some laws passed and other stuff he doesn't give two fucks about. He keeps both his ears on the people beside him but his eyes strictly on his phone. 

"It was very weird. I think he is actually in," the woman says to Peasegood. 

"That's all fine and dainty, but I'm still against opening his locket. You never know with the red cloaks. They are nasty little shits," Peasegood tells her. 

"But he hasn't done anythi--" Peasegood cuts her off with his hand and proceeds to order a refill on his drink. 

"This is Harry Sodding Potter we are talking about. That bloke is not one to just give up on  _ goodness  _ and  _ Muggle friendly morals _ just like that. He has been spouting about that since before the War. I have seen it myself. He is not one to just stop all that overnight." He lowers his voice, but Draco can still hear him just fine. You try to hear Harry when he is at the end of the bed murmuring the sort of praises that make your toes curl, and you can hear almost anything. 

"But--"

"No buts, Blue. I'm coming over this Friday for show time. Let's see how our  _ Saviour _ takes that, and I'll think about it," Peasegood amends, and Draco wants to whoop out loud. Not only did he find out that he was right all along, he also now knows when to attack. 

"You should come around noon. That's the best time for shock value. That would also mean we can keep an eye on him before he sleeps and tries to do something nasty," the woman tells Peasegood, and he nods in reply. 

They talk about their  _ stupid _ ideology for some time before getting on to lighter topics, like how devastated _ Draco  _ had looked when Harry basically kicked him below the belt. They laugh at his misery and mourn about the fact that he wasn't killed, because apparently being killed at the hands of your best friend on the orders of your lover and in front of your other best friend is absolutely hilarious to them . 

Draco wants to listen some more, but they turn to leave and Draco reluctantly watches them go. 

He closes his tab and floos directly to Ron and Hermione's house. 

"You both better not be fucking," he shouts as he enters their living room. 

He finds them sitting in front of the couch, both of their eyes bloodshot and Hermione seemingly consoling Ron. 

"Look Draco--" Ron starts saying, but Draco beats him to it. 

"I'll look later, but listen to me now. I have information." He grins at them and starts reciting his midnight adventure. 

Ron and Hermione are both beaming with shocked smiles when he finishes. Hermione gets up and  _ hugs  _ Draco. Ron just pats him on the back, and thank Circe for that, because being hugged by Ron Weasley would be truly traumatic.

They make a rough plan about what they need to do next, but most of the rest of the evening is spent drinking wine and relaxing after their sort-of victory. 

***

“Arnold fucking Peasegood," Harry greets as the apparent  _ boss _ of the whole Death Eater movement comes to meet him at last. 

"Harry Potter." The fucker smiles at him. "We meet again," he says, reminding Harry of Voldemort with his smug dramatics.

"Am I not supposed to be the Dark Lord? And that's how you greet me?" Harry sneers at him. 

"Getting cocky so soon,  _ my Lord _ ?" Arnold taunts, bowing down to him at last. 

"Now those are the manners I was looking for, Peasegood." Harry waves for him to stand up. He doesn't know where he is getting all of this confidence, but he is not going to reject it. He knows he still doesn't have an upper hand, not until the neck piece leaves his throat. 

"So, my Lord, I heard you are in a relationship with one of the Death Eaters. One certain Blaise Zabini?" Arnold inquires. 

"Not that it is any of your business, Peasegood, but yes. I'm in a relationship with Blaise."

Arnold opens his mouth, no doubt to comment on his and Malfoy's affair, but a look from Harry stops him in his tracks. 

Blaise enters at that exact moment and comes to stand beside Harry. Harry kisses him roughly, all tongue and teeth, before he murmurs a 'hello love' in a slight whisper, although he is sure Arnold can hear him properly. 

He hears a shattering sound across the hall and closes his eyes momentarily. He then looks straight into Draco's wide eyes, full of anguish and contempt. He couldn't have chosen a better time to actually kiss Blaise. 

Arnold scrambles across the room to escape and Harry realises that his cover is up. Aurors flood into the foyer and all hell breaks loose. 

Harry fights as many Aurors as he can, trying not to hurt them too badly; after all, he had worked with almost all of them at some point. McGravel, Blaise, and several others are all there fighting, throwing nasty curses at the Aurors. Harry tries to shield them from the worst of the hexes, but he feels an acute pain in the chest. He cries out loud for a moment, and all eyes fall upon him. Blaise shakes his head and resumes dueling. He thanks Merlin that Parkinson isn’t here. Has no idea what she would do and who she would hurt in the process. 

He sends a mild  _ Stupefy _ at Charles-- he partnered with Harry a year ago-- and then comes across Draco. 

***

Harry stands in front of him, eyes wide, heaving hard with his wand raised. The kiss flashes inside his mind and he instantly raises his wand to hex him- hex him, curse him, anything would do, but he doesn't. He cannot. He just cannot utter the words, or even swish his wand. A small corner of his brain supplies that, even after witnessing the kiss with his own eyes, he should give Harry benefit of doubt, at least until he is no longer wearing that sodding locket and the raid is over. 

Harry doesn't stop, though. He shoots a jelly leg jinx at him, which misses narrowly, and Draco looks at Harry with shocked eyes. 

"Harry…" he whispers in that same tone that he always uses when he calls his name. It breaks his heart, shattering it into pieces, and Draco swears that the sound of the shards hitting the ground is audible in the chaotic room.

"Draco, please," Harry pleads, but for what Draco doesn't know. 

"What Potter, what do you want now?" he spats, trying to regain control over his emotions. 

"Just  _ Stupefy _ me, please. I don't want to hurt you." Harry has tears in his eyes, and Draco doesn't think he can take it anymore. 

"I can't-- Harry, I can't hurt you. Not on purpose. Never on purpose," he tries to reason, but Harry shakes his head. 

"If you don't, then I have to hurt you, and I won't be able to forgive myself. Just please," Harry pants and clutches his stomach, his expression morphing into one of pain. 

"Please, love. You would be doing me a favor, I swear," Harry continues, and, at last, with tear streaked eyes, Draco stuns him. 

He instantly falls and Draco catches him firmly in his arms. He looks around and sees that Peasegood has been cornered by Ron and some other Aurors. 

Ron looks up and hurries towards them. He supports Harry, and Draco starts to open the neckpiece. Peasegood is nearby, so he guesses it would be okay to take it off, but Ron stops him. 

"What?" 

"Remember what Harry said: ‘Death will be the last consequence.’ I think he was talking about himself and the others wearing the charms from the way he tugged at his neck piece. No taking chances," Ron explains, and Draco nods. He had never thought about it that way but apparently Ron had, and he is inclined to trust his judgement. 

They apparate Harry straight to Mungo's. The stunning spell from Draco had not harmed him, but they needed a professional to get the locket removed. 

Healer Jones is the one in charge when they arrive and she places all of the people with lockets in a ward and strictly prohibits anyone from entering. Even the Ministress of Magic is barred, so they all sit and wait. 

*

"Love…" he whispers as he takes Harry's hand in his. It has been eight hours since Draco stunned him, and everyone besides Harry who had been bound with a necklace has already regained consciousness. Draco is terrified.

Harry's eyes flutter open and he blinks several times before focusing on his surroundings. At last, his eyes settle on Draco, and he smiles his private smile. Draco's heart melts at the sight. 

"I'm sorry…" Harry breathes, but Draco shushes him and squeezes his hand lightly. 

Harry squeezes back and asks, "How did you know?"

"What? That it was a farce? Potter, I'm extremely intelligent, and what can I say? I've always understood you, with or without words." Draco smiles wickedly, and Harry smacks his shoulder fondly with his other hand. 

"That's corny, even for you, Malfoy." 

"So I'm back to Malfoy?" Draco questions, a smile tinging his face. 

"You'll always be Malfoy, no matter what," Harry retorts, but after a moment he continues in a more serious tone. "So, about Blaise…"

"Come off it, Potter. Blaise is my best mate-- don't tell that to Pansy, she'll cook me alive-- and he already apologized a zillion times, so please, keep the sorrys to yourself for now. I'll milk them afterwards when we are alone," Draco says dismissively, waving his hand. 

"I'll hold you to that one, Malfoy." Harry blushes and shakes his head before saying, "But how do  _ my _ best mates know about it?"

It's Draco's turn to blush as he stutters out a reply, "They ...saw that- the …..you know." Draco stops, because Malfoys don't stutter. 

"This is the best moment of my life. Draco Malfoy is stammering!" Harry laughs loudly, and Draco burns him with his perfect death glare, which has no effect whatsoever. 

"Shut up Potter." 

"Make me," Harry challenges, and Draco leans forward and shuts him up in the best way he knows how. 

Someone coughs discreetly behind them, and they both freeze. They still aren't out to the world and it would be a major scandal if their relationship got out. 

"Don't worry, it's just us," Hermione says when Draco slowly turns around. He sighs a breath of relief and bursts out laughing when he sees Ron's face. 

"Mate, you bet your arse that you are getting a sitting down as soon as you're out of here," Ron tells Harry, and Harry nods with uncertainty. 

"Oh stop it Ron. Harry you don't need to worry--" Hermione starts, but Draco, the bastard that he is, cuts her off. 

"I've already booked him up for the night, Weasley. What about in three days, Maybe?" Draco smirks at Harry's horrified expression and warning glare. 

"Oh, that's fine. We'll meet you this Saturday for dinner then." Hermione smiles sweetly at them, and Draco admonishes himself for forgetting that Hermione was impossible to fluster. 

Unable to do anything else, he agrees to dinner, albeit reluctantly. They talk some more, and it's awkward now that they don't have the case to discuss, but they somehow keep the conversation going. 

"Bye mate."

"Get well soon, Harry." 

The couple exit, leaving Harry and Draco alone again. 

"That went well," Draco comments, and Harry nods in agreement. 

They talk for sometime before a Healer comes and deems Harry well enough to leave. Then they apparate home. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This work is part of H/D Cluefest and the creator is currently undercover. You can follow the fest at our [Tumblr](https://hd-cluefest.tumblr.com/). Creators will be unmasked on the 15th April.


End file.
